The present invention relates to running multiple applications in mobile equipment. For example, an application or device is emulated for use in a vehicle.
Navigation receivers are used in vehicles to assist in various operations. For example, a navigation receiver is connected to a farming vehicle for automatically steering during plowing, planting, harvesting or other uses. Other devices may also be provided in the equipment, such as displays and associated processors for indicating operation of various vehicle components. In the farming example, separate displays for operation of the vehicle and operation of attached components, such as sprayers, are provided. The different processors and associated programs provide information to the user using the same or different operating systems independently run on each device. For example, a navigation receiver operates pursuant to a Linux operating system, and an application for controlling spraying of herbicides or pesticides operates pursuant to a Palm or Pocket PC operating system. As more software applications become available in farming equipment, additional devices are provided. The inside cab of the farming vehicle becomes overwhelmed with different devices. Similarly, mining and construction vehicles may have a plurality of different devices and associated displays for different applications. The applications are associated with operating systems chosen by the device manufacturer. Likewise, other vehicles, such as cars or buses, have an increasing number of displays and associated devices.
To limit display confusion in heavy industrial and agricultural equipment, ISO 11783 provides for a virtual terminal. A monitor hosts images associated with one or more different sources. Different pieces of equipment or devices output data in a standardized format for display on a virtual terminal. However, the use of a standard format by the virtual terminal may limit the available types of display or display information.